‘Mercedes’ dominance frustrates Red Bull’

SPIELBERG, Austria — Formula One Chief Bernie Ecclestone believes the dominance of Mercedes has made the sport “top heavy” and caused frustration for Red Bull as it struggles to keep up amid ongoing concerns it could pull out of the sport.

Mercedes on Saturday completed a calendar year of pole positions from its star drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who have won seven of eight races between them this season after clinching 16 victories in 19 races last year.

“The product which we produce at the moment is a bit top heavy with one team winning a lot of races, probably too easy,” Ecclestone said on Saturday. “The winners never complain. The losers complain. All I’ve ever said is that it’s a pity that one team is dominating the sport. Nothing wrong with what Mercedes has done, it’ve done an incredible job.”

The once-dominant Red Bulls, who similarly crushed the competition from 2010-13 when Sebastian Vettel won four straight titles, is languishing way behind this season.

But Ecclestone, who was speaking to reporters at the Austrian Grand Prix after qualifying, does not believe Red Bull will pull out of F1 — despite ongoing threats from its exasperated owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

“I don’t think so. I know Mr Mateschitz very well,” he said. “There’d be more chance of him pulling out if he was winning than when he was losing.”

Red Bull’s ongoing problems with its Renault engine have prompted Mateschitz to blame the French supplier for his team’s inability to challenge Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes — which is 231 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.

Mateschitz said earlier this week that “besides taking our time and money”, Renault has “destroyed our enjoyment and motivation”. He repeated a threat made earlier this season to quit the sport.

“They’re disappointed, aren’t they?” Ecclestone said. “What they are saying is, ‘it’s not our fault.’”

Ecclestone hinted that, rather than leave F1, Mateschitz may seek a new engine supplier unless Renault puts things right.

“It doesn’t mean that because he’s falling out of love that he wants a divorce. He just needs a new girlfriend,” Ecclestone said. “He knows what he says and what the effects are.”

Renault has a contract as Red Bull’s supplier until the end of 2016.

“I think Renault understands,” Ecclestone said. “It’s no good a guy saying, ‘We need a doctor for our heart’ and the [other] guy says ‘I know a good dentist.’”

F1 has come in for increasing criticism in recent months, with fans frustrated at Mercedes’ dominance, but also over issues such as quieter engines, a lack of overtaking and a shift away from aggressive toe-to-toe racing toward fuel-saving and tire management.

Ecclestone agrees that fans deserve a better show and the time has come to “sort out the sporting regulations”.

Because of rule changes, teams are only allowed four engines per driver each season and drivers are punished with grid penalties when they change to a fifth engine.

At the Austrian GP alone four drivers got such penalties: McLaren pair Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button and the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo — the only driver to beat Mercedes last year when he won three races — and teammate Daniil Kvyat.

“I think we need to have a very, very good look at all our sporting regulations,” Ecclestone said. “It’s not what the public understand. They [the fans] don’t understand and when they do understand they don’t care basically.”